Drain stopper



P 1968 D. H. EILERTSON ET AL DRAIN STOPPER Filed Feb. 21, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

It! I I 46 45 ,1 I 1| Z6, 4/ Z; 27 30 //Z Z6 E DONALD EILERTSON RICHARD A. MASON 2/ INVENTOR.

J1EE.

April 30, 1968 o. H. EILERTSON ET AL 3,38

DRAIN STQPPER Filed Feb. 21, 1966 i 2 Sheets-Sheet g 3 1 3 22 g?) i2 2 Z6 Z/ DONALD EILERTSON RICHARD A. MASON I N VEN TOR.

United States Patent 3,380,081 DRAIN STOPPER Donald H. Eilertson, Huntington, and Richard A. Mason,

Orange, Conn., assignors to National Distillers &

Chemical Corporation, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Virginia Filed Feb. 21, 1966. Ser. No. 528,948 Claims. (Cl. 4-295) This invention relates to a novel drain stopper, and more specifically relates to a drain stopper which may take the place of a rubber stopper, or the like, and is further provided with an inexpensive and simply constructed valve which is easily movable between an open and closed position, and allows free passage of drain water in its open position.

Drain stoppers are well known to the art, and generally fall into one of two categories. The first is a simple stopper which is inserted in a drain when it is wished to prevent passage of drain water from a tub, sink, or lavatory or any similar type of emptyable container.

The second type is a valve arrangement built into the drain and has an operating handle which moves a valve between an open and closed position.

The present invention is for a novel and simply constructed drain stopper which is of the type which can be inserted into a presently existing drain in the manner of the normal rubber stopper, but which further has a novel valve arrangement which is operable between an open and closed position obviat ng the need for removing the drain stopper. Moreover, the arrangement avoids the need for building a valve into the drain and permits the easy connection of the drain stopper to the drain.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, an operating handle is provided for the drain stopper which is a pivotally mounted member which can be pivoted by the hand or foot and drives a cam surface which engages a normally open valve. When it is desired to close the drain, it is only necessary to pivot the operating handle, whereby the cam surface of the operating member moves the valve downwardly against the force of a spring bias.

The entire drain stopper is a portable device having a loosely held O-ring seal about the outer periphery thereof for permitting the simple insertion of the complete assembly into a suitable waste strainer with the loosely held O-ring permitting the connection of the drain stopper to various waste strainers even though these may have relatively large tolerance variations from a standard diameter.

The assemblage is then made in an inexpensive manner through the use of a suitable plastic material for the body of the device with a metal cover over the upper surfaces of the device to provide an attractive appearance.

Accordingly, a primary object of this invention is to provide a novel drain stopper which combines the functions of a normal plug stopper and a built-in valve arrangement.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a novel drain stopper which is connectable to a pre-existing drain.

A further object of this invention is to provide a novel drain stopper which is attractive in appearance and inexpensive to manufacture.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a novel drain stopper having a simple operating mechanism for insuring reliable operation of the valve mechanism.

A further object of this invention is to provide a novel strain stopper which need not be removed from the drain to empty a container connected to the drain.

These and other objects of this invention will become apparent from the following description when taken in connection with the drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a cross-sectional view through the drain stopper of the present invention when connected in position with respect to a bathtub drain with the valve in the open position.

FIGURE 2 is similar to FIGURE 1, and shows the drain stopper valve in the closed position.

FIGURE 3 is a top view of the plastic body of the drain stopper of FIGURES l and 2.

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view of FIGURE 3 taken across the line 44 in FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 5 is a top view of the operating handle support of FIGURES l and 2.

FIGURE 6 is a side plan view of FIGURE 5.

FIGURE 7 is a cross-sectional view of FIGURE 6 taken across the line 7-7 in FIGURE 6.

FIGURE 8 is a side plan view of the operating handle of FIGURES l and 2.

FIGURE 9 is a front view of FIGURE 8 as seen from the right-hand side of FIGURE 8.

Referring now to the figures and particularly to FIG- URES 1 and 2, I have illustrated therein a portion of a tub or sink or the like, hereinafter referred to as tub 10 for purposes of illustration which has a waste elbow 11 secured to an opening in the tub 10 which is, in turn, secured to a waste tube 12 in the usual manner.

In most tubes of this sort, a waste strainer 13 will be secured to the opening in waste elbow 11 with a suitable washer 14 forming a seal between tub 10, waste strainer 13 and waste elbow 11. Note that the waste strainer 13 may be threaded into the waste elbow 11 as shown.

In the past, the drainage of water from tub 10 and out of the tub has been controlled either by a simple rubber stopper which can be inserted into waste strainer 13; or a complex valve mechanism, which is operable from a suitable operating handle, is built into the waste strainer 13 or waste elbow 11.

In accordance with the present invention, a novel removable drain stopper 20 can be inserted directly into waste strainer 13 in the manner of the normal simple rubber stopper where, however, the novel drain stopper incorporates a novel operable valve mechanism which can be moved between an open and a closed position.

The novel drain stopper 20 is comprised of a main body 21 which is of a suitable plastic material, and is shown in detail in FIGURES 3 and 4. The body 21 may be formed of any suitable plastic such as an acetal plastic, and good results have been had with the acetal plastic known by the trade name Celcon which is molded to the shape shown in FIGURES 3 and 4. However, all parts can be made of any desired material.

More particularly, FIGURES 3 and 4 show that the body 21 has an upper head portion 22 which has an opening 23 therein. The lower portion of body 21 and below the sealing ring notch 24 is comprised of a spider 25 which provides a relatively large unrestricted area for the passage of drain water, and communicates with opening 23.

Spider 25 further contains an upwardly projecting pedestal 26 which serves as a support and a guide for the valve 27, shown in FIGURES 1 and 2. The valve 27 is preferably of a resilient plastic material such as polyethylene which aids in its sealing operation. Valve 27 has an annular bead 28 which, as shown in FIGURE 2, seats upon the shoulder 29 within body 21 to seal off the spider opening structure 25 when the valve is closed, as shown in FIGURE 2.

Valve 27 is biased to a normally open position by a suitable biasing spring 30, shown in FIGURES 1 and 2. In order to operate valve 27 between its open and closed J positions of FIGURES 1 and 2, respectively, an operating handle 40 is provided which may also be of the same plastic material as is the body 21.

The operating handle 40, best shown in FIGURES 8 and 9, is provided with an operating cam section 41 and a threaded section 42 which can receive a circular metal knob or ball 43 having a tapped opening therein, as shown in FIGURES 1 and 2. The operating handle 40 is then captured in the drain stopper assembly by means of a cap insert 45 (FIGURES 5, 6 and 7) which, in turn, is captured in a central square opening in the drain cap 46.

Cap insert 45 is best shown in FIGURES 5, 6 and 7, and is of the same plastic material as the operating handle 40 and body 21. Note that by selecting a plastic of the acetal type there is provided sufficient mechanical rigidity as well as self-lubrication to achieve highly efficient operation. Clearly, however, these various parts could also have been made of metal or any other suitable material.

The cap insert then has a notch 50 in the opposing walls thereof which latch into the rectangular opening of drain cap 46 (FIGURE 7). The threaded end 42 of the operating handle 40 is then inserted through the elongated opening 51 of the cap insert 45 with the side surfaces of the operating handle extending beyond the diameter of screw 42 nesting into the arcuate shoulder 52 which extends from the interior of opening 51. The arcuate shoulder 52 will then have a radius equal to the radius of curvature of the captured portion of the operating handle 40 so that the operating handle can pivot from the position of FIGURE 1 to the position of FIGURE 2, as shown.

The threaded ball 43 is then threaded onto threads 42 of operating handle 40, and the drain cap 46 is then suitably connected over the upper head 22 of the main support assembly 21.

The cam surface 41 of operating handle 40 will then bear directly against the upper surface of valve 27, whereupon pivoting of operating handle 41) by the hand or foot will cause the cam surface 41 to cam the valve 27 downwardly and against the force of biasing spring when it is desired to close the valve 27. Once the valve is fully closed as in the position of FIGURE 2, the point of engagement at the end of cam surface 41 and the top of valve 27 act as an overcenter toggle so that the actuating lever will not be snapped back to the position of FIGURE 2 by the biasing force of spring 30.

In order to open the drain stopper, it is only necessary to pivot the operating handle slightly in a counterclockwise direction to break the toggle, whereupon the biasing force of spring 30 will move the valve 27 upwardly to the open position of FIGURE 1 against the cam surface 41.

In order to connect the assembled drain stopper to the waste strainer 13, the groove 24 receives a loosely held O-ring 60, as shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, whereupon this O-ring will complete a seal between the drain stopper assembly and the interior of the waste strainer. Since the O-ring is relatively loosely held, sufficient tolerance will be provided so that the drain stopper can be connected into waste strainers which may have slightly varying diameters.

Although this invention has been described with respect to its preferred embodiments, it should be understood that many variations and modifications will now be obvious to those skilled in the art, and it is preferred, therefore, that the scope of the invention be limited not by the specific disclosure herein, but only by the appended claims.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclu sive privilege or property is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A drain stopper for removable connection to a drain comprising a drain core having a lower body portion having first passages therethrough, an upper head portion, a valve seat portion disposed between said lower body portion and said upper head portion, second passages extending through said drain core above said valve seat, a valve guide pedestal extending upwardly from said lower body portion, and sealing ring means extending around the outer periphery of said lower body portion for removably sealing said drain stopper in a drain with said first passages below said sealing ring and said second passages above said sealing ring; a valve member fitted over said pedestal and guided by said pedestal for translatory movement into and out of sealing engagement with said valve seat thereby to open and close communication between said first and second passages; a drain cap con nected to and extending across the top of said upper head portion; and a rotatable operating handle pivotally connected to said upper head portion; said rotatable operating handle having an external portion extending beyond said drain cap to be accessible for manual opera tion and an internal portion connected to said valve member for moving said valve member betwee n its said open and closed positions responsive to rotation of said operating handle.

2. The device as set forth in claim 1 which further includes a spring biasing means connected between said pedestal and said valve member for biasing said valve member upwardly and toward a disengaged position.

3. The device as set forth in claim 2 wherein said internal portion of said operating handle includes a camshaped surface in engagement with the upper surface of said valve member; rotation of said operating handle in one direction moving said cam surface along said upper surface of said valve member to cam said valve member downwardly against the force of said spring biasing means; said operating handle being moved to an overcenter toggle position at the end of its rotation in said one direction to latch said valve member in its said closed position.

4. The device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said drain core, said valve member, and said operating handle are of plastic material; said drain cap being of metallic material.

5. The device as set forth in claim g wherein said drain core, said valve member, and said cam surface are of plastic material; said drain cap being comprised of metallic material.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,041,237 10/1912 Budlong 137454.2 1,596,894 8/1926 Schifter 4287 HAROLD I. GROSS, Primary Examiner. 

1. A DRAIN STOPPER FOR REMOVABLE CONNECTION TO A DRAIN COMPRISING A DRAIN CORE HAVING A LOWER BODY PORTION HAVING FIRST PASSAGES THERETHROUGH, AN UPPER HEAD PORTION, A VALVE SEAT PORTION DISPOSED BETWEEN SAID LOWER BODY PORTION AND SAID UPPER HEAD PORTION, SECOND PASSAGES EXTENDING THROUGH SAID DRAIN CORE ABOVE SAID VALVE SEAT, A VALVE GUIDE PEDESTAL EXTENDING UPWARDLY FROM SAID LOWER BODY PORTION, AND SEALING RING MEANS EXTENDING AROUND THE OUTER PERIPHERY OF SAID LOWER BODY PORTION FOR REMOVABLY SEALING SAID DRAIN STOPPER IN A DRAIN WITH SAID FIRST PASSAGES BBELOW SAID SEALING RING AND SAID SECOND PASSAGES ABOVE SAID SEALING RING; A VALVE MEMBER FITTED OVER SAID PEDESTAL AND GUIDED BY SAID PEDESTAL FOR TRANSLATORY MOVEMENT INTO AND OUT OF SEALING ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID VALVE SEAT THEREBY TO OPEN AND CLOSE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN SAID FIRST AND SECOND PASSAGES; A DRAIN CAP CONNECTED TO AND EXTENDING ACROSS THE TOP OF SAID UPPER HEAD PORTION; AND A ROTATABLE OPERATING HANDLE PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO SAID UPPER HEAD PORTION; SAID ROTATABLE OPERATING HANDLE HAVING AN EXTERNAL PORTION EXTENDING BEYOND SAID DRAIN CAP TO BE ACCESSIBLE FOR MANUAL OPERATION AND AN INTERNAL PORTION CONNECTED TO SAID VALVE MEMBER FOR MOVING SAID VALVE MEMBER BETWEEN ITS SAID OPEN AND CLOSED POSITIONS RESPONSIVE TO ROTATION OF SAID OPERATING HANDLE. 